Improvement in the construction of plows for prairie lands



c. K. BARTLETT.

Ditching-Plow.

Patented Mar. "28. 1842.

AM. PHOTO-Hm. CU. NY. (DSBUHNE'S HUICESSJ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

G. K. BARTLETT, OF GENESEO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN 'THE CONSTRUCTION OF PLOWS FOR PRAIRIE LANDS, dc.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 2,515, dated March 28,1842.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GROMWELL K. BART- LETT,of Geneseo, in the county of Henry and Stateof Illinois, have inventedan Improved Plow, intended principally for the plowing of prairie lands,but which is applicable also to lands of other descriptions; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full and exact descriptionthereof.

The wood or frame work of my plow difi'ers materially fromthat of plowsin general use. its main body consistsot' a plank of oak or othertimber, which may be from six to twelve feet in length, from two feetsix inches to three feet in width, and two or three inches in thickness.This plank is intended, in general, to run directly on the ground, theshare, colter, and landside reaching or extending down from the underside of theplank to the depth of the intended furrow, the lower sideofthe plank thus constituting the gage to this depth, which may beincreased or diminished by making that part of the plow adjustable towhich the colter and share are attached. To cause the plank above namedto pass readily over the ground it is made to curve up at its fore end,and when it is necessary to turn the plow round, as at the end of afurrow, or to draw it on without making a furrow, the fore end of it,and the share and colter attached to it, are lifted up by means of alever and a pair of wheels, upon which said lever operates in a mannerto be presently described. The landside of this-plow is of unusuallength, and servesto aid in guiding it in a direct line without itsbeing necessary to use handles, as in the ordinary plow.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my plow;Fig. 2, a representation of a part of the lower side and back of it, andFig. 3 a vertical section in the line 00 x of Figs. 1 and 2.

A A is the plank, which constitutes the main body of the wood-work ofthe plow. The part A is the fore end, which is represented as curvingupward, as above noticed. The part A is shown in dotted lines, ortransparent, for the purpose of giving an unobstructed view of theshare, colter, and mold-board. In. the rear of the part A the plank iscut away, so as to leave it in the general form shown at A A, Fig. 2.The share, colter, and the metallic part of the landside I makein onepiece,

usually forming it of sheetsteel, or of iron edged with steel, althoughit may ,be made of cast-iron. The part of this which forms the sole orbottoinof the plow, and the edges of which constitute the share, standsat right angles, or nearly so, with that which constitutes the colterand landside. I

B B 'is thZLlM-pOIiJlOII of the steel or other plate which forms theshare, 0 being the sole or bottom of the plow. D D is the part of saidplate which stands at right angles to B O, the fore part of which, E,forms the colter. An additional colter may, if desired, be placed infront of this, in the manner common in other plows. Such a colter maypass through a Inortise in the plank A and be held by a wedge.

F F is the mold-board, which may be of cast or of wrought iron, and maybe attached to the plate B O D by rivets, orotherwisc.

G G is a piece of timber, which forms a continuation of the metallicmold-board and of the landside, and to this the plate 13 O D isattached. The face G G forms the continuation of the mold-board, and mayreceive any curvature for turning over the sward which may be deemedexpedient. The under part, G G, of this piece of timber forms thecontinuation of the sole 0 of the plow, and of the metallic landside DD, and passing along in thefurrow serves to guide the plow in astraightforward course. The timber G G and the plate D D are bolted tothe plank A A by bolts (1 a a, the

heads of which are let in flush. The nuts of these bolts are seenat b bb, Fig. 2. The holes through which these bolts pass in the plank A A arewidened out, as shown by the lines 0 a, which admits of the raising orlowering of the share and landside, so as to regulate the depth of thefurrow.

H H is a piece of timber, which is bolted onto the plank A A by thebolts at d, serving to thicken it out and to make a proper bearing forthe piece G G and the plate D D.

I I are two wheels, by means of which the share and colter are to beraised out of the ground when the plow is to he turned or is to be drawnforward without making a furrow. These wheels revolve on an axle, J J,and they maybe raised up so as to clear the ground, or may be depressedso as to raise the share and colter from the furrow, by means of alever,

'K K. The axle J J has mortises through it, through which pass theguide-standards L L,

uponwhichthe axle slides. The wheels are represented as raised and thelever K held in place by a bolt, M, passing through the standard N. Whenthe wheels are lowered the lever K is kept down by the bolt 0. v

In using the above-described plow the lower I side of the plank A A isintended, in prairie land, to rest upon the ground; but in land which isgravelly orstony this may be objectionable, while its construction inother respects may render its use desirable. It may, in this case, bemade to run upon four wheels, like the wheels I I, which may raise ittwo or three inches above the ground, more or less. The operating partsof the share, colter, and mold-board must be adapted to thisarrangem'ent.

Having thus fully'de'scribed. the manner in which I construct and use myprairie-plow, what-I claimtherein as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent,'is-- L The forming ofthe main body ofthe woodworkthereof of a plank which is to run on the board, and landside, theoperating parts of which extend below the bottom of the plank to thedepth of the intended furrow.

2. The forming of the share, colter, and landside of one continuouspiece of metal bent at right angles, in the manner and for the purposeherein fully made known.

3. The manner of combining and arranging the timber G G and the share,colter, and moldboard of the plow so as to constitute one piece by theircombination with each other, which combined piece may be adjusted so asto regulate the depth of the furrow by means of screws and nuts or otherdevices substantially the same with that described. 7

v GROMWELL K. BARTLETT.

Witnesses THOS. P. J oNEs, E. L. 'BRUNDAGEL

